This season, Alonso joined Alpine and returned to F1 after two seasons. But early in the season, he went through an adaptation period and the results were not ideal. At the time, some people began to question whether his decision to return to F1 was the right one.
But the experienced Spanish driver said that while he doesn't always like criticism from the outside, he now sees those criticisms as positive for him.
At the beginning of the season, Alonso's results were not ideal. The first Bahraini Grand Prix, Alonso ended with his retirement. After consecutive points at the Circuit imola and the Circuit de Portimão, he finished only 17th at the home Spanish Grand Prix. In the subsequent Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso was only 13th. In the first five Grands Prix of the season, teammate Aokang had better results than him.
In the following grand prix races, Alonso's form picked up as Alpine team upgraded the A521 car and adapted to the car. Before the summer break, he had scored points in six consecutive Grand Prix and finished 4th at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Alonso admitted he had thought he would adapt faster when he returned to F1 and responded to questions raised early in the season over disappointing results.
"I knew it was a process of adaptation, but I thought it would be faster. Because compared to WEC, Dakar Rally and Indy500, F1 is innate to me. I thought it would be 100% fast soon. ”
At the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Alonso finished only 13th, setting the lowest ranking of his F1 career at monte carlo.
"In Monaco, for example, I was hoping to have a good performance on this track, but I was eliminated in Q1 and that disappointed me. I know it's only a matter of time before I (adapt). Those criticisms and comments have been generated, not that I like them, but they are indeed a 'blessing'. ”
"They're a blessing because I know I'm finishing out of the top 10 again and people are appreciating (my driving) again, it's just a matter of time."
"If I've been ahead of my teammates, all the way in the points zone, those criticisms will become clichés that run through my career, for example: I'm not on the same level as my teammates, the car has more potential..."
"If they suddenly think I've accomplished something, anything I do will be more appreciated." Some of the competitions weren't great, like the French Grand Prix, where I finished ninth. The game was exciting, but nothing special. But that game was considered to be a good one for me because I had a good performance. This is indeed a good thing. ”
After halfway through the season, Alonso finished 11th in the standings with 38 points, just one point behind teammate Ocon.